University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Gymnastics Recruits Excel at Junior Olympic National Championships
6/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Gymnastics
Kristin Furukawa had four top-10 finishes, highlighted by her fourth-place showing in the all around with a mark of 38.175. In addition to Furukawa’s top-four finish in the all around, she also finished third on bars (9.65), eighth on floor (9.65), and tied for 10th place on beam (9.375). With her all around finish, she has earned a spot on the Junior Olympic National Team. The J.O. National Team is comprised of the top four finishers from each age group, for a total of 32 gymnasts out of the 448 national meet competitors. Furukawa also competed at the J.O. National Championship in 2006.
Furukawa is the first Junior Olympic National Team Member to attend the University of Minnesota since Leigh Dixon, who competed for the Gophers from 2000-03. During her collegiate career, Dixon was a two-time All-Big Ten honoree. She currently ranks third on vault on Minnesota’s all-time top performers list.
Kendra Elm qualified for the J.O. National Championship for the second time, but due to an injury sustained prior to the 2006 championship, she was not able to compete last year. In her first national championship competition, she earned a top-10 finish on bars with a score of 9.55 to tie for 10th place. She earned her best all around score of the season, a 37.175, to place 26th in the all around.
Yuri Nagai had also qualified to compete at the J.O. National Championship in past seasons, but was not allowed to compete because she is not a U.S. citizen. Nagai, a native of Japan, was able to make her first appearance at the national meet this season due to a petition to allow non-U.S. citizens to participate in the championship. Despite suffering an elbow injury earlier in the season, she was able to continue training and was healthy enough to compete at the national level. She had a high score of 9.275 on the bars.
“We were really pleased to have the future of Minnesota gymnastics so well represented at the Junior Olympic National Championships and are especially excited about how strong they looked on events where we will certainly be needing their help,” said co-head coach Meg Stephenson.
